A firefight between US occupation forces and Iraqi resistance fighters in the town of Fallujah left an Iraqi couple dead, Iraqi police and witnesses said, according to AFP.

In northern Iraq, resistance fighters attacked a checkpoint with bullets, killing a policeman and a civilian west of Kirkuk on Wednesday.

Fallujah residents and the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division reported the shelling Tuesday night of a US forward military base outside the tense city where soldiers come under frequent attack. US paratroopers opened fire in response, both the military and locals said.

At this time, a witness said he watched US soldiers shell a nearby home, killing the couple. Police Lieutenant Ibrahim Ahmad said he went to the destroyed building and saw two bodies there.

Meanwhile, Iraqi police were ambushed on the road between the northern oil refinery of Baiji and the town of Hawijah, 80 kilometres northeast of Kirkuk. "Unknown gunmen sprayed automatic weapon fire at a police checkpoint ... killing a policeman and one civilian," said police officer Ahmed Hassan Ali, according to AFP.

The civilian's car was stopped at the checkpoint when the gunfire erupted at 7:10 am (0410 GMT), the officer added. The attackers immediately fled.

Elsewhere, US forces raided suspected resistance strongholds in in Tikrit region, north of Baghdad.

All in all, 53 people were arrested from Monday to Tuesday, the US military said.

In the province of Al-Anbar, the 82nd Airborne and 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment detained "27 enemy personnel" over a 24-hour period ending Tuesday, it said.

Three resistance fighters were captured after a firefight in Khalidiyah, some 55 kilometres west of Baghdad. (Albawaba.com)